scholarly journals Growing a small firm; experiences and managing difficult processes

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 1445-1463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Tunberg ◽  
Alistair R. Anderson

Abstract Contrary to a simple model of small firm growth where increased inputs produce greater outputs, we consider growth is a complex and difficult process. Accordingly, the paper is concerned with how small firms grow, especially how they make sense of the growth process. We collected narratives of the experiences of small firm growth in an extended case study to draw out how growth is understood and managed. We saw how owners became entangled in the process of growing, especially where a change in one aspect led to problems in other dimensions of growth. Their narratives were about trying to make sense, and give some sense to the complexity of growth and some direction to what they should manage. We identified a repertoire of narrative forms: Growth is understood through output indicators, growth is treated as the internal development of the firm and finally, growth is taken to be inevitable - a necessity to which the firm has to conform. These illustrate how growth can be understood as processes of growing, bound up in the context, created in space and time, and contingent on how growth is understood and experienced. Far from a smooth trajectory, enacting growth reflects the experience of the moment, it is shaped by reactions rather than strategy and it is messy rather than ordered. This study contributes to the literature by complementing the functionalist and output oriented view by understanding firm growth as a social phenomenon constructed and reconstructed in the interactions between people and experiences of context.

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-37
Author(s):  
RUBEN PEETERS

This article explores the link between the history of small-firm associations and the development of Dutch financial infrastructure geared toward small firms. In particular, it tests Verdier’s thesis about the origins of state banking using an in-depth case study of the Dutch small-firm movement. This article shows that Dutch small-firm associations did not simply became politically relevant and use their power to lobby for state banking, but rather used the topic of insufficient access to credit to rally support, mobilize members, and obtain subsidies from the government. During this associational process, they had to navigate local contexts and power structures that, in turn, also shaped the financial system. State banking was initially not demanded by small firms, but arose as the result of failed experiments with subsidized banking infrastructure and a changing position of the government on how to intervene in the economy.


2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrzej H. Jasiński ◽  
Filip Tużnik

Abstract This paper is mainly based on a case study of Tuzal Ltd. - a small firm acting in the eco-innovation market in Poland. The main aim of the paper is to analyze main barriers which are being met by enterprises, especially small firms, acting in the eco-innovation market. The following barriers are analysed: problems in convincing customers to innovative solutions; a specific nature of cooperation with local administration units; continuous changes in legal regulations; an increasing market competition; a lack of funds for marketing; a generation gap and a retirement age of the company’s owner.


2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa C. Barton ◽  
Sandra Painbéni ◽  
Harry Barton

The Case Study section of the International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation serves two purposes. First, the case studies presented are concerned with problematical issues that are pertinent to students of entrepreneurship. Thus they constitute appropriate teaching and learning vehicles on a variety of postgraduate and undergraduate programmes. Each case study is accompanied by a set of guidelines for the use of tutors. Second, it is envisaged that those engaged in entrepreneurial activities will find the cases both interesting and useful. This case study focuses on Domaine de Mourchon, a niche producer of Côtes du Rhône Villages, Séguret Wines in France, owned by the Scottish McKinlay family. The case explores the role of entrepreneurial marketing in helping small independent wine producers to craft strong niche positions in a mature industry. Over the last two decades, French wine producers have been faced with changing consumption and production patterns and fiercer competition, particularly from the New World wine producers. McKinlay entered wine production in 1998 at the height of the industry decline in France. The case allows for the exploration of how a small independent domaine has been proactive in integrating customer preferences, competitor intelligence and product knowledge into the process of creating and delivering superior value to customers in an attempt to achieve a strong market positioning. The activities of McKinlay highlight some of the important considerations for successful entrepreneurial marketing in an industry facing severe marketing problems. Learning objectives: a) to explore the role of entrepreneurial marketing in promoting small firm growth, particularly in mature and/or declining industries; (b) to assess branding and the establishment of or involvement in cooperative interorganizational networks as key factors in successful entrepreneurial marketing; and (c) to stimulate debate about the role of entrepreneurial marketing for small and large firms in different industries.


Author(s):  
Yvonne Costin

It is advocated that the role of technology is instrumental in determining the effectiveness and efficiency of where, when and how business transactions are undertaken to meet stakeholder requirements in a competitive manner. However, research by the Small Business Forum (2006) suggest the use and application of ICT in small firms overall is poor where entrepreneurs do not capitalise sufficiently on the benefits of ICT. To succeed and grow, mompreneurs’ businesses should be using ICT as a backbone for the business in an integrated manner. The objective of this chapter is to examine the adoption and application of ICT in the mompreneurs business and challenges encountered in its effective use. A specific emphasis is placed on the issue of ICT and its use by the mompreneur in undertaking business transactions and as a means of facilitating small firm growth.


2021 ◽  
pp. 231971452110496
Author(s):  
Nusrat Hafiz ◽  
Ahmad Shaharudin Abdul Latiff ◽  
Md Asadul Islam ◽  
Abu Naser Mohammad Saif ◽  
Sazali Abd Wahab

As a pre-condition for the economic growth of a country, the concept of firm growth has emerged as a critical strategic issue for small businesses from the strategic management perspective. While some literature reviews have been conducted on small firm growth, a comprehensive review of theories emphasizing the association of intangible resources with the growth of small firms has not been conducted. This study aims to provide a literature review of extant theoretical perspectives of small businesses literature. For the review, materials are collected and extracted from various online databases, and results are analysed using classifier variables. Five theories of firm growth, namely, the resource-based theory, knowledge-based theory, dynamic capabilities theory, upper echelon theory and resource-dependency theory, are selected to review, associating the present research aim. The theories are compared using key attributes and outcomes. A clear direction towards an optimum theory to underpin the small firms’ growth has been provided from a resource-management perspective. By validating various theoretical perspectives to explain small business growth, the present study provides first-hand insights for managers to formulate strategies and creates a cornerstone for future empirical studies.


2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 586-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svante Andersson ◽  
Joakim Tell

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the relationship between the manager and growth in small firms, through a review of earlier research.Design/methodology/approachA review of articles published during the last 25 years is carried out in order to answer the question: How does the top manager influence growth in small firms?FindingsThree key relationships are identified: between growth and, respectively, managerial traits and characteristics, managerial intentions, and managerial behavior or roles. The diverse findings in the literature are contradictory and give a paradoxical picture of the impact of the manager. A deeper analysis of the results from the review, supplemented with leadership theory, yields a better understanding of small‐firm growth with a special focus on the behavior of the manager.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper problematizes the complexity in managing small‐firm growth, and can be further empirically validated by using multiple methods including qualitative ones such as observational studies.Practical ImplicationsThe findings have a bearing on education and policy implications. If a behavior can be identified that promotes small firms' growth, education and policy implications can be developed in line with these results.Originality/valueIn small firms there seems to be a general consensus that managers do influence the performance of small firms, but so far there has not been a systematic review of earlier empirical research, that is done in this paper. From this review, a more complete picture of how managers influence growth in small firms is presented.


1993 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 847-861 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Milne ◽  
S Tufts

The dramatic flourishing of small-scale enterprise in recent years has stimulated a great deal of academic interest. Indeed many researchers have given the small firm pride of place in theories designed to explain the growth of a new, more ‘flexible’, economic environment. Recently, however, commentators have questioned whether these analyses are perhaps not overly optimistic in the role they ascribe to small firms. We add to the debate through a study of small Canadian brewers (microbrewers). Whereas Canada's major brewers have been forced to restructure and rationalise their operations in the face of new competitive pressures, including trade liberalisation and changing consumer demand, microbreweries have found themselves catering to a growing niche market and have expanded rapidly in number. Although much of the microbrewery ‘success story’ appears to support theories of small-firm growth, we argue that a cautionary note must be added for the future. Improved efficiency and flexibility is making it easier for large brewers to break into the high-profit-margin niche markets that were once the preserve of their smaller counterparts. As a result, the next decade may not witness the same levels of small-firm growth that characterised this sector in the 1980s.


2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 461-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rakesh Gupta ◽  
Sriparna Basu

The strategy–firm growth relationship has remained an important issue for researchers, and in spite of the growing volume of work in this area, little consensus has emerged on this issue. One of the reasons behind this lack of consensus is the question—how to conceptualize strategy? and in this, a lesser examined way has been to use the strategic orientation (SO) construct. As conceptualized by Venkatraman (1989), the SO construct comprises six dimensions, that of analysis, pro-activeness, riskiness, aggressiveness, futurity and defensiveness. The need to integrate SO and resource-based view (RBV) has seen increasing emphasis by researchers since the choice of resources constitutes an important precondition for firm growth and even more so in the case of small firms. This study empirically examines strategy–firm growth relationship through the lens of SO by studying the influence of individual SO dimensions on firm growth. In this study, we attempt to empirically examine and validate the nature of SO construct and how its individual dimensions influence small firm growth, how the dimensions interact with firm resources and what is the moderating influence of resources on the relationship between individual SO dimensions and small firm growth.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard Acquah Obeng

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the sources and use of social capital on small firm growth in an emerging economy. The study also examines the relationship between small firms’ human capital, internal resources and strategy on social capital sources used, and their impact on small firms’ growth in employment.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses logistics regression and structural equation modelling to analyse data gathered from 441 small firms located in six regions of Ghana where approximately 81 per cent of all businesses are found.FindingsAmong the 16 sources of social capital examined, customers were found to be the most used source and the only social capital source that showed significant statistical association with firm growth in employment. Also, the study revealed that human capital, firm resources and strategy variables such as educational level of the owner-manager, firm size, location, firm involvement in internalisation and innovation are statistically significant with social capital sources such as accountants, banks, solicitors, business associates and chamber of commerce.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of the study have implications for policy and practice in situations where government and private sector institutions mandated to support enterprise development appear to be the least social capital sources used by small firms. The findings also provide a better understanding of the use and impact of social capital sources on small firm growth in an emerging economy in Africa.Originality/valueThis study appears to be the first known research on small firms’ social capital that has examined 16 different social capital sources and shown how human capital, internal resources and firm strategy have influenced the use of social capital sources by small firms in an emerging economy.


2013 ◽  
pp. 322-339
Author(s):  
Yvonne Costin

It is advocated that the role of technology is instrumental in determining the effectiveness and efficiency of where, when and how business transactions are undertaken to meet stakeholder requirements in a competitive manner. However, research by the Small Business Forum (2006) suggest the use and application of ICT in small firms overall is poor where entrepreneurs do not capitalise sufficiently on the benefits of ICT. To succeed and grow, mompreneurs’ businesses should be using ICT as a backbone for the business in an integrated manner. The objective of this chapter is to examine the adoption and application of ICT in the mompreneurs business and challenges encountered in its effective use. A specific emphasis is placed on the issue of ICT and its use by the mompreneur in undertaking business transactions and as a means of facilitating small firm growth.


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